Stand and Laugh
by Doodle Sketch
Summary: One-shot. Aster Phoenix is stuck. And Zane's sure not going to help. When it comes to rivalry, these two know how to do it best.


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX, or it's characters.**

**Possible Season 2 spoilers, but not really. No pairing intended, but you could possibly read it as Aster/Zane if you wanted. I use the English names because they are easier to remember, and to spell. Haha.**

**Here we go.**

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Aster Phoenix was bored.

Back at Duel Academy. The duelist had taken a break from the Pro Leagues to recuperate from his recent adventures with The D, and decided it wasn't worth doing nothing. So it was back to Duel Academy, for a while at least.

It was eerily quiet where Aster stood, which was at the coast of the island. Every other student was at class, while Aster didn't take as many. As a result, he was bored. Bored, bored, _bored._ Hands in pockets, staring out at the water, waiting those irritatingly slow minutes before his class began.

Aster knelt onto the hard ground, picked up a pebble, then straightened up and threw it as far out to sea as he could. Which was pretty far, not to toot his own horn or anything. He watched in satisfaction as the pebble streaked through the air and hit the water many meters away. Then he stuffed his hands back in his pockets.

Just as he wondered about when he should get back to the Academy, Aster felt something - no, _two _somethings, almost like hands but not quite - slam hard into his back. The sudden impact caught the young duelist off guard and caused him to go from standing firmly on the bank to face-down on it, and mere inches

from the lapping water.

"Urgh…what…?" Aster turned himself over and tried to sit up, but this _something _was blocking the way up. He blinked away the slight haze in his vision and glanced up to his captor.

A…

A dog?

"Huh?" Aster blinked, confused. What's a _dog _doing here?

The dog merely panted in response, reaching forward and attempting to lick Aster's face. He wasn't having any of it, of course.

"Gerroff!" Aster grumbled, attempting to push the dog off of him so he could get back on his feet. But it was a _big _dog. And it soon had him pinned, two paws pressing on his chest. And much to Aster's dismay, it didn't look like it was planning on moving anytime soon.

"Where did you come from?" Aster asked the dog. Then he slapped his hand against his forehead. Uh, well, he _would _have, if his arms hadn't been trapped at his sides. What kind of moron asks a dog a question and expects an answer? Jaden might've, but not Aster. Definitely not Aster.

"Hahaha!"

Uh-oh. Aster felt the colour drain from his face. He only knew one person with _that_ arrogant of a laugh.

"This is precious."

Sure enough - eyes squinting in the sunlight, Aster looked up to find himself bathing in the shadow of his (not-so)favourite, leather-clad duelist. Who was still cackling at Aster's expense.

"Something funny, Zaney?" Aster snapped bitterly, not above using his favourite nickname for the older Pro.

"Yes," Zane said plainly. The mention of his nickname put a halt to his laughter though. _Ha._

Aster glared up at him, feeling awfully small, while Zane loomed over him, glaring back.

Several minutes passed without them saying a word, until Aster got bored. _This is getting ridiculous_, he thought, shifting underneath the dog's paws. _I've been stuck here for goodness-knows-how-long. I've gotta get back on my feet. __**Especially **__now that Zane is here._

Aster gave a relentless shuffle, trying to topple the dog. _Easier said than done. _The dog wasn't budging. In fact, he folded his front legs and rested his head upon them. _Oh fabulous, _Aster grumbled. _Now I've got an even heavier weight on my chest. _

"Don't get comfortable!" Aster yelled at the dog. Who was unresponsive. Typical.

Zane was laughing again. "Trapped by a dog? You're weak."

Aster just grumbled something that sounded vaguely like some kind of curse, while trying once more to shift the dog. For a fleeting moment, he regretted not having any pets in his childhood. He liked animals enough, but he didn't know much about them. He was a little hesitant to tip the dog right off him in case it hurt him. Would it hurt him? _Urgh, _these were the questions he didn't have the answers to.

All the while Zane was laughing. _Darn that insensitive, egotistical pri-_

"This isn't a strong moment for you, Phoenix," he snickered. He was clearly enjoying this.

_Darn him to hell._

"I could use some help here…" Aster mumbled. He remembered he was supposed to be in class. He didn'thave a watch, but he was certain he was late by now.

"What's that, kid?" Zane said loudly.

"I said, get your damn mutt off of me now, grandpa!" Aster shouted, glaring daggers at his Pro-League rival. Zane blinked.

"That's not how you ask for things. Did your precious father not teach you manners?"

_Ooh, that does it. _"This is coming from the guy who electrocutes his duelling opponents."

"Shut up, you wimp," Zane grumbled. "Besides, it's not my dog."

"Huh?" Aster had assumed Zane had brought it with him. After all, Zane was a visitor (_what was he __**doing **__here anyway? Planning to electrocute his younger brother?)_, and this dog was - well, he'd never seen it in his life. "Where did this come from, then?" _And why won't he move?_

Zane shrugged. "I just saw it running around the island. He was already pretty hyper - I just pointed him in the right direction." He smirked. Aster blinked.

"You _what_?!" Aster shrieked, squirming. That damn sore-loser was lower than he thought. Ordering an attack with a dog, then coming over and laughing about it? _And, _in turn, making Aster late.

"Why…the second I get up, there's gonna be hell to pay," Aster said. He wasn't quite sure if he meant to say it out loud.

"Big words coming from someone who can't even take on a mutt," Zane said coldly, folding his arms. Aster knew he wasn't going to get any helping hands from him. Even if Zane had a sudden change of heart, Aster's pride probably wouldn't allow it. He decided to change tack.

"And you called me a wimp!" Aster was slightly breathless from having something so heavy leaning on his chest. He tried to ignore it and plastered on his game-face. "You called an…attack from behind!"

The expression on Zane's face changed in a millisecond. Aster smirked, satisfied. _Take that, jerk._

"Whatever," he said moodily.

Then they were back at the beginning. Aster struggled under the paws of his captor while Zane looked on and refused to help. Sometimes they glared, silently challenging the other to speak. Sometimes the dog snored. The point was, they weren't getting anywhere, and Aster was pretty sure that his class was _over _soon.

"Take your time," Zane said infuriatingly. "I don't have anywhere to be."

"Yeah, well I do," Aster said. "Not all of us have time to stand around all day and dog-sit." Sit be the appropriate word. _Just get off me, dammit._

Zane was silent again for a few moments. The he gave Aster an odd look.

"You won't hurt him, you know," Zane said.

Aster just glared. He didn't show on his face how that comment had caught him off guard. With his weird blank expression and casual voicing of Aster's thoughts - Zane was creepier than Sartorius sometimes.

_Alright, _Aster grumbled. _I've officially had it. _

"I'm going to class," Aster said, forcefully shoving the poor sleeping dog right off him onto the ground. Aster was glad to see that the dog's sleep had gone on undisturbed. He brushed off his silver dress coat - ignoring the ache he had all over him as long as he was within eyesight of Zane.

"You took your sweet time, didn't you?" Zane said grumpily. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were just playing for attention."

Playing for atten…? _Oh, sure Zane, that was it, _Aster gave his rival a defiant stare. _Like I'd let you watch me struggle underneath a heavy dog out of choice. Idiot._

Aster stood tall and marched off. Zane sighed and turned to look at the water.

It's true that Aster was _very _late for his class at the Academy. But, he just couldn't help stopping to turn over his shoulder and watch that freaking arrogant duelist. Much to Aster's surprise, Zane did exactly what the younger teenager had done before him and stooped to pick up a pebble. He stood carefully behind the dog (who was still KO-ed) and threw it out. Irritatingly enough, it soared farther than Aster's had before.

_Ok…_ Aster felt his competitive streak overpowering his dignity. _That's enough._

Taking a few steps back first, Aster made a running charge. Zane barely had time to look around at the sound of pounding footsteps before the two Pros collided heavily, Aster crashing into Zane's back. Zane's feet caught on the dog in front of him and sent him toppling over into the shallow end of the lake. While Aster quickly regained balanced and proceeded to stand still and laugh at his rival's expense. Revenge was sweet.

"Phoenix!" Zane roared, standing up quickly, his long trench coat dripping wet. He glanced around quickly and made sure nobody had seen his fall. Then he turned back and gave Aster a look of pure evil. Aster paused. Physical fights weren't allowed on campus, were they? No, of course not. Thank goodness. Aster was reasonably strong, but Zane was big. And angry.

"Attack from behind?!" Zane shrieked. Aster shrugged.

"Fair play." He merely retorted.

Zane was fuming, and Aster could tell by the thoughtfulness in his eyes that he was contemplating about the school's policy on fist fights too. After a quick decision, Zane pulled a card from his pocket. "You! Me! Duel! NOW!" he yelled. Aster laughed again at how ridiculous Zane looked. "And I'll electrocute you…I'll electrocute the hell outta you…!"

_I've beaten him before…I can do it again. Aster smirked. He pulled out his deck._

_Class could wait._

* * *

**Huzzah.**

**I hope you enjoyed that. Review if you will! I'll be very grateful.**


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